Villa Italia of Newburgh - Italian Fare at the Crossroads

Villa Italia

Megan: 3.5 Krabby Patties

We went to this restaurant once a few months ago and I remember it having incredible food – which I was looking forward to having again. My expectations might have been slightly too high from last time. I got the same meal that I got on my last visit – chicken francese. To drink, I had water – I had to ask for it with NO LEMON (just in case). Then the salad came. The vinaigrette was perfect! And the salad was like a normal salad – where I had to pull an amount of stuff off. But that’s nothing different than usual. Then the chicken came. The chicken was cooked very well – and the sauce was very good … but …

... it had a really odd taste like it was smoked in ham or bacon. I hate ham AND bacon. So that changed how good the chicken was. The pasta was DOUSED in lumpy tomato sauce – which isn’t THAT unusual for Italian restaurants – but that doesn’t make it any better. Overall, my meal was about average, and not as good as I’d had in the past. It still was a good, decent meal.

 

Glenn: 3 Krabby Patties

Situated at the crossroads of Routes 32 and 300, this little Italian bistro is actually easy to overlook. We’ve eaten there a few times in the past – and have always been happy with the experience. Tonight’s meal was somewhat marred by the fact that there was a huge party of about 20 people in the restaurant. They required much time and attention - and, according to Megan, they were really loud and annoying. When we walked in, a guy from that party sort of shoved himself between Megan and me saying, “I have to sneak past you.”

“That’s not sneaking at all!” said Megan. “It’s not sneaking if you say that you’re sneaking!”

… I have to admit, I sympathize with Megan’s point.

Anyway, we were seated quickly and were initially treated with prompt service. I ordered the same antipasto salad that I’d had last time. And Megan ordered chicken francese. Then we waited. And waited. And waited. The food was going to have to be REALLY GOOD to offset the wait.

By the time the food came, Megan and I both realized that the food here is actually pretty ho-hum. We concluded that we both missed the waitress we’d had on prior occasions, who strikingly reminded both of us of my mom – who could make any meal seem like a fabulous feast. Tonight’s waitress was fine, but she just didn’t have what was needed to offset the extended wait time.

In any case, date night with Megan is always a fun time!

Mangia!